Ballet Appreciation Series (2014#2) - Jewels

Jewels (1967) is a three act ballet, created for the New York City Ballet by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine (1904-1983). 

It 
- is abstract ballet, or non-narrative (just dancing - with no stories to tell)
- has 3 movements: Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds.
Balanchine skilfully mixed old components to produce something new.

Movement 1 - "Emeralds

Dressed in GREEN, the dancers demonstrated 19th Century Romanticism and elegant French school, to Fauré's music from his "Pelléas et Mélisande" (1898) suite, and "Shylock" (1889) (Fr version of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.)

Movement 2 - "Rubies" 

Dressed in RED, the dancers exhibited lively and witty modern ballet, to Stravinsky's Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1929). 

Movement 3 - "Diamonds" 

Dressed in WHITE, the dancers exhibited glamour and dignitary grace of the Russian palace, to Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3 (1875).